My Ikigai

Last month, I bought "Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to A Long and Happy Life" book, written by Hector Gracia and Francesc Miralles. I still not finish to read that, but today in People in Organization class, mention about this concept.

Based on the diagram that presented in the class, Ikigai is "the reason for our being". This concept combine the answers of what are we good at, what we love, what the world needs, and what we can paid for.

For me, find my Ikigai is challenging. Sometimes I know what makes me happy, and sometimes I don't know. But, I will try to find my Ikigai by answer the slice one by one.

The first slice is what I good at and what I love. Since elementary school, i love writing so much. Write personal diary, poem, short story, and this capability is growing when I was in Communication Faculty with major in Journalism. I can say i am good at writing because I had won some writing competition. So, for the 'passion' slice, the answer is writing.

Next slice is about what we love and what the world needs. I found what I love, and I think the world needs 'high quality news'. High quality here means the news is written based on "9 Elements of Journalism". So, my 'mission' is make a better world with my written that applied "9 Elements of Journalism" principle.

To answer the questions of what the world needs and what we can paid for, I can say it is by being a journalist. I had try this when I was in college but i think I can not sustain as a journalist. The risks are too high, not worth with the money income.

On the fourth slice, 'profession', this is the answer for question what we can paid of and what we good at. Basically, I am good at writing. Not only write news, but also articles, fiction, and caption for social media. So, I am happy when I was accepted as Media Relation Officer in Badak LNG because I can show off my capability and get good salary from it.

Although i found that my Ikigai is writing, I believe that I still can improved that. Some area that I need to improve is write in English, SEO, monetize my personal blog, and write a book (fiction/nonfiction).

To growth my writing skill, I try to read articles that written in English. I also often read articles about SEO and google ads. In Facebook, I joined writing group named "Komunitas Bisa Menulis" to see what topics that can attract readers nowadays. From that group, one of the member ever asked me whether it is possible to write novel together.

I am grateful that my circle support me to keep my Ikigai and achieve more from that. If you ever read my writing, I also open for critics and suggestions to make my writing skill better.